N.B. premier hopes to convince Quebec of Energy East benefits

FREDERICTON — The premier of New Brunswick says he believes he can convince Quebec’s skeptical premier of the benefits of reviving the Energy East pipeline project. Higgs, along with a number of other premiers and federal politicians, are pressing for a restart of the $16 billion Energy East pipeline to get oil from Alberta to refineries in eastern Canada and to an export terminal in Saint John, N.B.

The pipeline would have to pass through Quebec, but so far, Premier Francois Legault has signalled he’s not interested.

Higgs says he’s hoping to convince Legault that Energy East would benefit all provinces including Quebec when the two men are face-to-face this week at a first ministers’ meeting in Montreal.

“We have a number of provinces lined up who say this is a big interest for us. I’m optimistic that he too is going to see the benefit here because we all share in the benefit of this resource, and he has refineries too that would be interested in sourcing this oil that are currently on foreign oil,” Higgs said Wednesday. Legault’s spokesman told La Presse this week that Quebec has no intention of supporting any revival of Energy East.

“Our government’s ambition is to increase the level of wealth in Quebec, but it will have to be done in a perspective that respects the environment,” Ewan Sauves told the Montreal news outlet. “We have always been reluctant faced with this project, which is poorly put together environmentally and economically.”